Welcome to Hansen Tree Farm!
When you arrive you’ll receive a warm greeting and:
- Map to navigate our farm
- Saw to cut your tree, or
- Parking by our pre-cut area
- Answers to your questions
- Photo guide to tree species, if you need
And your visit will end here, leaving with a tree or other greenery and perhaps a cup of hot cocoa or Christmas sausage still in your hand.

We’re here to help!
Need help cutting or carrying your tree?
Selecting a pre-cut?
Finding extra, and free, boughs?
Just ask anyone in an orange vest!

After you’ve found your tree enjoy a complimentary hot beverage and maybe a Christmas sausage. And stay warm in our gift shop or by the bonfire. We’ll be busy shaking your tree to remove dust or grass and old needles. Leave them here, not in your home!

After shaking we’ll bale your tree, making it easier to transport and for you to carry inside your home. If you have a “spike” tree stand remember to ask us to drill your tree before we tie it on your car! We have these convenient stands in our gift shop.

Finally, we securely load and tie your tree.
We use heavy duty, natural sisal twine.
Our goal is to make your outing simple and easy.
We hope you enjoy our farm as much as we do!

PRICE PHILOSOPHY

We don't price our trees by size, but rather by species. Our one price for any size tree includes all the services listed above, plus all the activities we offer. All our fields are clearly identified with signs to indicate the species. If you don't remember your favorite type, the photos and descriptions below should help you decide. We feel that a set price is simpler and more fair than selling ‘by the foot’ because it also includes all of the activities and food and beverage services. Please, just come and enjoy your day!

PLENTY OF TREES

Our 40-acre farm has trees from 5’ to 8’ tall (a few pines are larger). When you arrive we’ll give you a map of all our fields. If you’d like a preview of the map scroll to the bottom of this page.

Pre-cut balsam and Fraser firs, white and Scotch pines are also available. They are priced per-foot and adjustments made for quality. Prices range from $50 to $150, sizes are 5’ to 9’. About half of these trees come from our farm and are cut during the week as demand dictates. The others, primarily the larger Fraser and balsam firs, are from another farm further north and are cut just before Thanksgiving. If you select a pre-cut tree we’ll make a fresh cut before we tie it onto your vehicle.

UNSHEARED

A hundred or more un-sheared (some say ‘natural’ or ‘Charlie Brown’) balsam fir grow under the canopy of our forest. They range from 10’ to 15’ tall and are very sparse with a true layered look. While not for everyone, their type is traditional in northern Europe.

NEW! COLORFUL TREES ($40 extra)

Here’s something new, ‘lightly flocked’ trees in four different colors; Bubblegum (pink), Sugar Plum (purple), Baby Blue (light blue), and Snowfall (white). Dave selected 60 above average, 5’-7’ trees in four varieties to color; balsam fir and white, red, and Scotch pines. If you’re interested ask when you arrive and we’ll direct you to the field, if there are any left.

These brilliant colored trees may remind you of “flocked” trees popular in the 1960s, though these are more lightly coated and are cut-your-own. Back then red (Norway) pine was the species commonly treated so Dave made sure to include them for those interested in a ‘retro’ species. And, it is also our state tree! The colored trees are an extra $40 and have already been cleaned of old needles (with a leaf blower) so there is no need to shake them at our check-out. They may be baled without damaging the coloring. In addition, if needed we’ve pruned the lower branches to give you a nice handle to go into your tree stand.

Tree Species

Balsam Fir

Close-up views of firs show the top and underside color of needles.

Balsam fir is the most popular Christmas tree in Minnesota. It’s also our favorite and so we have more fields of balsam than all other species combined. It has soft needles about one inch long, a pleasant fragrance, and needles that hold tight for a long time. Space between branches leaves room to place ornaments and lights. Balsams are the only fir species native to the Great Lakes area, and all the way to the New England states and Maritime Provinces. For that reason, ecologically it is our preferred variety and we encourage you to consider it over the Fraser fir. The seed source for our balsams comes from Maine. We like that it produces needles all around the stem (as opposed to a flat pattern) and that the underside of the needles is lighter than the top. University of Minnesota forest ecology professor Henry Hansen, who started Hansen Tree Farm, coauthored "Balsam Fir," the 1965 reference and textbook.

Balsam Fir

Fraser Fir

Close-up views of firs show the top and underside color of needles.

Frasers have similar qualities to Balsam fir, with the exception that the under side of Fraser needles has a silvery – or lighter – color. They also have a heavier, thicker trunk. Fraser firs are native to the mountains of Virginia, North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. They evolved from balsam fir following the glaciers. Their native range at 4-6,000 foot elevation gets about 80 inches of rain per year, and that is what it takes for them to look their best. But since central Minnesota receives about 25 inches of precipitation growers must either irrigate a lot or settle for an inferior/stressed tree. We encourage you to compare a Fraser with a native balsam fir, most people can’t tell the difference!

Fraser Fir

Canaan Fir

Close-up views of firs show the top and underside color of needles.

Canaan fir is technically not a unique variety, but an ‘ecotype’. It is named because it originated, following the retreat of the glaciers, in the Canaan Valley of West Virginia, at and above 3,000 feet elevation where freezing temperatures persisted late into spring. Its primary difference -- from Fraser and balsam firs -- is that it emerges from winter dormancy two to three weeks later than the other firs. This makes it suitable for ‘frost pockets’, or low areas that are susceptible to late frosts when heavy cool air settles in on a still spring night and kills new growth. We have planted it in two of these low areas on our farm. Its appearance is between Balsam and Fraser firs, since it evolved from balsam.

Canaan Fir

White Pine

This graceful tree has long, 6-inch needles that are soft to the touch. The branches are also pliable and do not hold heavy ornaments, but small lights and decorations are perfect for the limber branches. A nicely sheared white pine appears full, with no openings. It looks nice even when small, which can’t be said about other pines. All pines tend to grow wider, compared with firs.

White Pine

Red Pine

Our state tree, also known as Norway pine, has very long (6-inch) needles and stiff, course branches. This species is difficult to shape -- by pruning -- into an indoor Christmas tree. There will always be a few openings, which can be used to hang larger ornaments. It is a traditional tree that was popular in the 1950s and 60s, and was the species used when ‘flocking’ was the fad. Our red/Norway pines usually take first place at the State Fair.

Red Pine

Scotch Pine

Heavy shearing makes this a dense, bushy tree that was the most popular species in the 1970s and 80s. It tends to have a twisty growth, which means some are misshapen, with a slightly crooked trunk.
The needles are medium-length, stiff, 2-to-3 inches long and will hold heavier ornaments than white pine. Scotch pine are native to Europe, from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia. This is the only non-North American tree we grow and we are not planting any more as it is more susceptible to pests than native species.

Scotch Pine

Colorado Blue Spruce

Short needles and stiff, flat branches make the symmetrical blue spruce easy to identify. The perfectly layered branches are nicely spaced for decorating, and the stiff branches support even heavy ornaments. You can see from the close-up photo that the needles are very sharp and will deter pets from playing with -- or climbing -- the tree. When you decorate a blue spruce wear gloves to prevent scratching your hands! Since the spruce family holds it needles the shortest length of time, we recommend it not be cut before Thanksgiving. Old timers call spruces ‘30-day’ trees. But, kept watered it will last from Thanksgiving to New Year’s.